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atherton neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
West of the Alameda, Atherton Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Atherton's hilly southwest corner between Alameda de las Pulgas, Stockbridge Avenue and the Woodside and Menlo Park lines: Walsh Road, Fletcher and Ridge View drives on acre lots around Bear Gulch Reservoir.
West of the Alameda by the numbers
west of the alameda by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for West of the Alameda (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in west of the alameda · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in West of the Alameda
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in West of the Alameda from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (West of the Alameda (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How West of the Alameda came to be
This corner of Atherton has real topography. USGS elevation points run from about 120 feet above sea level along Alameda de las Pulgas to about 340 feet near Ridge View Drive and Fletcher Drive, with the land dropping again into the Atherton Creek valley along Walsh Road, Reservoir Road and Valley Road. County stream maps trace Atherton Creek for about a mile through the area, down to the Alameda by Las Lomitas Elementary, before it crosses West Atherton toward El Camino.
The biggest single feature is water. Maps label the open water in the middle of the area Bear Gulch Reservoir, and county parcel records show about 100 acres of water-company land around it. Cal Water says its Bear Gulch district, which serves Atherton, collects and treats its local surface water at a reservoir and treatment plant in Atherton; that local water is about 11% of the district's supply, and the rest is bought from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
The houses came with the breakup of the estates. The Town's history says a few large holdings were subdivided in the 1920s and 1930s and more than 80 subdivisions were recorded in the 1940s and 1950s, and the Town's R-1A zoning still requires a one-acre minimum for new subdivisions. Here the lots run a little over an acre on average, and the Town of Woodside is just across Stockbridge Avenue and the west line.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Walsh Road is the spine. It leaves the Alameda next to Las Lomitas Elementary and runs southwest to Valley Road near the south edge, with Tallwood Court, Meadow Lane, Belbrook Way, Reservoir Road and Knoll Vista off it and Sargent Lane near its far end. North of Walsh, Atherton Avenue continues west of the Alameda as far as Ridge View Drive; Fletcher, Ridge View, Sutherland and Alta Vista drives, Mesa Court and Mandarin Way cover the higher ground toward Stockbridge Avenue, and Stevick Drive runs in from the Alameda. Melanie Lane runs off Stockbridge in the northwest corner, and Broadacres Road sits near the Alameda.
County parcel maps count about 320 single-family lots, with a median of about 1.1 acres and only about a dozen under half an acre. Broadacres Road, Meadow Lane, Alta Vista Drive and Knoll Vista run larger (medians of about 1.2 to 1.4 acres), and Mesa Court, Melanie Lane and Stevick Drive sit right at an acre. About one in nine single-family parcels carries an assessor code for an ADU.
The same R-1A rules apply as in the rest of town: 60-foot front and rear setbacks on most lots, a 30-foot height limit (34 with a special structure permit) and floor area of 18% of the lot on lots of an acre or more. Oaks with a trunk diameter of 15.2 inches or more at 54 inches above grade are heritage trees anywhere on a lot, and other trees that size are protected outside the main buildable area.
streets in west of the alameda
- Walsh Road
- Fletcher Drive
- Atherton Avenue
- Ridge View Drive
- Sutherland Drive
- Alta Vista Drive
- Reservoir Road
- Valley Road
- Melanie Lane
- Stockbridge Avenue
- Belbrook Way
- Stevick Drive
- Tallwood Court
- Mesa Court
- Broadacres Road
- Sargent Lane
- Mandarin Way
- Meadow Lane
- Knoll Vista
- Alameda de las Pulgas
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near West of the Alameda
- landmark
Bear Gulch Reservoir
The reservoir in the middle of the area, on roughly 100 acres of water-company land in county parcel records. Cal Water's Bear Gulch district treats its local surface water at a reservoir and treatment plant in Atherton.
- school
Las Lomitas Elementary School
The Las Lomitas Elementary School District campus at 299 Alameda de las Pulgas, just across the Alameda from the foot of Walsh Road.
- landmark
Atherton Creek
Runs along the Walsh Road side of the area for about a mile (county stream maps) to the Alameda, then on through West Atherton.
- park
Sharon Park
A Menlo Park city park about half a mile (straight-line) south of the Town line.
- park
Holbrook-Palmer Park
The Town's 22-acre park at 150 Watkins Avenue, about 2.6 miles (straight-line) across town, with a ball field, tennis courts, playground, gardens and walking paths.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
U.S. Census school-district maps put every Town parcel checked here in the Las Lomitas Elementary School District, whose schools are Las Lomitas Elementary and La Entrada School, and in the Sequoia Union High School District. Las Lomitas Elementary sits at 299 Alameda de las Pulgas, about 0.1 mile (straight-line) across the Alameda from the east edge. Woodside High School, a Sequoia Union campus at 199 Churchill Avenue, is about 0.4 mile (straight-line) beyond the northwest corner, on unincorporated county land with a Woodside mailing address. Being close to a school does not decide attendance, and boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district (Sequoia Union has an online boundary search).
Las Lomitas guide · Sequoia Union guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- I-280: the Sand Hill Road and Woodside Road (SR 84) interchanges are each about 1.1 miles from the middle of the area (straight-line).
- Caltrain: Atherton's own station closed in December 2020; Menlo Park station is about 2.6 miles and Redwood City about 3.6 miles (straight-line).
- Alameda de las Pulgas, along the east edge, is the main north-south road, toward Redwood City to the north and Menlo Park to the south.
- SamTrans route ECR runs on El Camino Real, about 2.3 miles east (straight-line).
- Bikes: the Town's Active Transportation Plan update, the successor to its 2014 bicycle and pedestrian plan, is due for adoption hearings in winter 2026/2027; check it for planned routes along the Alameda and Atherton Avenue.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in West of the Alameda: what we check
Buying here
- Read the geologic and hazard reports. The state's 2006 seismic hazard map puts about 39 lots, mostly along Atherton Creek (Walsh Road, Valley Road, Reservoir Road, Belbrook Way), in a liquefaction zone and a few lots on Walsh Road and Tallwood Court in a landslide zone. The county's FEMA layer shows Zone X (minimal flood hazard).
- Check fire-hazard status for the parcel. A March 2025 local news report said Cal Fire's new local-area maps did not put Atherton in high fire hazard zones, while parts of neighboring Woodside are; confirm in the natural hazard disclosure.
- Confirm the sewer. County maps put most lots in West Bay Sanitary District and Melanie Lane and part of Stockbridge in the Fair Oaks Sewer Maintenance District, and about a dozen parcels fall outside both mapped districts; ask whether the house is on a sewer or a septic system.
- On a sloping lot, have a civil engineer and an arborist look at grading, drainage and heritage oaks before you plan an addition or rebuild under the 60-foot setbacks.
- Confirm the address is in the Town. Stockbridge Avenue is shared with Woodside, and the south edge meets Menlo Park and unincorporated West Menlo Park.
Selling here
- Lead with the land and the site work: acreage, usable flat area, views, and any grading, drainage or retaining-wall permits.
- Have the geotechnical, sewer or septic, and arborist paperwork ready; buyers on these slopes ask for it early.
- Show the floor-area math and the setback lines so buyers can see what the lot allows.
- Note the I-280 access (Sand Hill Road and Woodside Road, each about 1.1 miles straight-line) alongside the hazard disclosures.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
West of the Alameda questions, answered
Is West of the Alameda hilly?
Yes, in places. USGS elevation points run from about 120 feet at the Alameda to about 340 feet near Ridge View and Fletcher drives, with Atherton Creek's valley along Walsh Road in between.
Which school district serves West of the Alameda?
Census maps put the whole area in the Las Lomitas Elementary School District and the Sequoia Union High School District. Las Lomitas Elementary is just across the Alameda. Check the exact address with each district.
What is the open water in the middle of the area?
Bear Gulch Reservoir. Cal Water's Bear Gulch district collects and treats its local surface water at a reservoir and treatment plant in Atherton, and county records show about 100 acres of water-company land here.
Does the neighborhood stop at Walsh Road?
No. The Town continues south of Walsh Road to Valley Road, Sargent Lane and Meadow Lane before the Menlo Park line, and this guide uses the Town line as its south edge.
Is it in a fire hazard zone?
A March 2025 local news report said Cal Fire's new maps did not put Atherton in high fire hazard zones, unlike parts of Woodside next door. Check the natural hazard disclosure for the specific parcel.
How close is the freeway?
I-280's Sand Hill Road and Woodside Road interchanges are each about 1.1 miles (straight-line) from the middle of the area.
next door
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